India Fetal and Neonatal Care Equipment Market Size

India Neonatal & Prenatal Devices Market Analysis

India's neonatal and prenatal devices market is expected to register a CAGR of 5.9% over the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the Indian neonatal and prenatal devices market. As per the study published by PubMed Central in March 2022, movement restrictions brought on by the lockdown, the lack of public transit, and the concern of contracting Women who have COVID-19 were prevented from using maternal healthcare services. Moreover, as per the study published by PubMed in January 2021, the reduced coverage for all interventions related to mother and child health. The total number of institutional deliveries decreased by 2.26%. The worst-affected services, with a 22.91% reduction, were those for antenatal care. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the market; however, as the pandemic has subsided, the studied market is expected to have stable growth over the forecast period.

The major factors for the growth of the India fetal and neonatal care devices market are increased preterm birth rates, greater public awareness of the importance of prenatal and neonatal care, and government measures to improve care for infants.

Premature babies are born before the mother reaches the gestation period of 37 weeks. Depending on how premature the baby is, certain organs can be underdeveloped, such as the digestive tract, lungs, immune system, and even skin, in certain cases, where the demand for incubators for their survival is inevitable. As per an article published by Times of India in July 2022, the number of premature babies in the region is increasing due to the increasing prevalence of diabetes and obesity among women, along with the rise in multiple births due to fertility treatments. Moreover, as per the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) data updated in July 2021, nearly 3.5 million babies in India are born too early, 1.7 million babies are born with congenital disabilities, and one million newborns are discharged each year from Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs). These newborns remain at high risk of death, stunting, and developmental delay, which will add to the growth of the studied market.

Moreover, UNICEFs focus on equitable reduction of neonatal deaths is in line with the Government of India's "India Newborn Action Plan," for which UNICEF is a key partner. The Action Plan aims to significantly reduce preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths and reduce neonatal mortality and stillbirth rate to a 'single digit' by 2030. As thematic technical lead for facility-based newborn care, UNICEF has been instrumental in the scale-up of SNCUs across India and creating one of the biggest real-time online databases for sick newborns globally. UNICEF has also been assigned the role of lead partner in 39 out of 115 aspirational districts in India. With poor indicators across social sectors, these aspirational districts have been identified by NITI Aayog in coordination with line ministries for convergent action.

Thus, all these factors drive the demand for prenatal and neonatal devices across India. However, low birth rates in developed countries, lack of awareness, and economic constraints in many areas are the major factors hindering growth in India's neonatal and prenatal devices.